Air Conditioner

[MsEmee]

I had a cruisair on my boat and it went bad in less than two years. Like others it rusted out due to condensation pan. Cruiseair did NOT honor the warranty. I did some research and found out that they were the only ones at the time that put the entire condensation pan under the entire unit vs just the under the cooling coils. Bad design. I also have a freezer by them and it too went bad after the first year. They did not honor their warranty again. I would never buy anything again from them.
I went with a local company for AC and a new freezer. Works great now. Be careful when buying a new unit to make sure it fits in the existing space. In particular the height measurement. Also when you order a new one you will need to know whether it is a right or left hand model and a large or small mouth outlet box. Measure the opening on the AC unit that the box (the outlet box that attaches to the AC unit usually black) attaches to.
The electronic controller you have might not work with the newer units. Ask the AC rep. There is smaller differences in how the AC unit comes on and the reverse cycle works that are different from unit to unit.
Since I live on my boat I put electric heat option vs reveres cycle on my boat. It saves the AC unit from working during the winter months. I have not regretted this decision.
I put in the Mermaid discharge unit to evacuate the condensation water in the tray. The check valve does need replacing at least once a year. I put a vented loop (ran the discharge line higher than the water line) in mine incase the check valve goes bad. Been working great now for 3 years with this set up. I buy the check valve from US Plastics for less than dollar each vs $10 from Mermaid.

 

[RLMahan]

Installed a Marine Air 12000 BTU unit in my 34 back in 1994. It ran flawlessly until 2009 when the base of the compressor rusted through and the refrigerant leaked out. The installer (unfortunately, that was me) had installed the base without shims and the base held a little water touching the compressor can. The pinhole was in a place that I couldn't patch .. so I replaced the compressor .. Bought a compressor at a great price, took the unit to a local AC shop and got them to install the new compressor and to evacuate and recharge.. I checked everything else .. and she has been running flawlessly again. It runs on a "dehumidify" cycle when I am away (runs every 4 hours for an hour or so, then shuts down) .. mostly year 'round.. and runs a lot over the summers.. I also use for heat in the winters, but we do not need heat a lot. I am very pleased with the unit. I have had the original March cooling water pump fail about three years ago. and had to patch rust in the condensate pan when the compressor was out.. I don't know how they are since Dometic purchased the company, but Marine Airrrrr made a fine unit when they made mine. Look for a composite pan for rust proofing, and look at making sure the pan drains and does not hold condensate against the compressor can.
EDIT: The "manufacturers" mostly buy their compressors and components like reversing valves and expansion tubes/valves from the same makers.. the difference is in how they put the components together ... the quality of the silver solder joints and the cleanliness of the internals after they've assembled the components. You can usually buy those same components and have them replaced if you aren't one to do AC work..

Hi Kloudie, where did you install the Marine Air Systems unit on your H34? I had the same unit on 2 other of my boats and love them.

 

[kloudie1]

RL, I put it in the stbd settee aft, next to the water heater..

 

[onecoolair]

RL, I put it in the stbd settee aft, next to the water heater..

Looks like a very clean installation. Nice!

 

[sailmaster39]

a/c rusty condensation pan fix

I recently bought a H356 which was in overall great condition except the steel A/C condensation drip pan was extremely rusted and on its last leg.I cleaned it up with wire brush and rust remover and then I mixed up some west system epoxy and covered the entire drip pan with about a 1/8 inch coating.
No more problem and the condensation flows freely when the A/C is on.Why they did`nt use plastic or stainless to begin with is ass-nine,especially in the marine enviroment.

 

[onecoolair]

I recently bought a H356 which was in overall great condition except the steel A/C condensation drip pan was extremely rusted and on its last leg.I cleaned it up with wire brush and rust remover and then I mixed up some west system epoxy and covered the entire drip pan with about a 1/8 inch coating.
No more problem and the condensation flows freely when the A/C is on.Why they did`nt use plastic or stainless to begin with is ass-nine,especially in the marine enviroment.

That's because if this marine air conditioner manufacture did it the right way, they would put them selves out of business. The manufacture shall remain nameless but we all know who they are... I had the same unit at one time had to take it home put it on the bench and totally break it down so I could rebuild it. The first leak occurred right at the bottom of the condensing coils in a very difficult spot to repair. Because the copper tubing sat in rusty water from Unit not being properly leveled to allowing for the pan to drain plus all the rust from pan did not help. It was a great unit otherwise. Btw... I will never buy another unit from any manufacture with the reverse cycle feature ..... I would only do the heat strip and that's only if I really needed it to do heat. Otherwise cool only!

 

[keepsailin]

CruiseAir and MarineAir are the same units - made by Dometic. The only difference is the controllers. Why? Marketing. The lastest 16k turbo is a solid unit. The rusting out tray does not happen anymore since they are now made of synthetic. Not inexpensive but they are very easy to install DIY.

 

[spraygun]

Not that anyone asked.....but mine had been installed in the v berth.here is a pic.

 

[spraygun]

Unit in cabinet.

 

[Jeff]

We've had a 16,500 BTU Flagship Marine A/C with electric heater for 10 years. No major problems. All made from stainless steel. No rusting at all so far. Never had a Freon problem. We did have to replace the water circulation pump once. The electric heat feature is great. You can even use it on the hard.